


Killer Hot Dogs

by isnt_that_wizard



Series: A World Without Ghosts [2]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex's Parents Suck, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Fluff and Angst, Food Poisoning, Happy Ending, Julie Loves Her Boys, Julie and the phantoms - Freeform, Love, Medical Inaccuracies, Near Death Experiences, No Character Death, Protective Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Rated teen for near death experiences, Reggie's Parents Suck, This Is Sad, but Emily Mitch and Ray are great, hot dogs, hot dogs should be their own warning honestly, listen this series is all about moments from the show, so i couldn't just ignore the hot dogs, this is hard to read if you haven't read the first one, we stan healthy families
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:14:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27137134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isnt_that_wizard/pseuds/isnt_that_wizard
Summary: “Really? I mean, getting hot dogs off the guys who sell on the street corners- fine, whatever. But an alleyway? Are you sure that’s the best idea?”Luke scoffed at him- like he’d had the most genius idea in the world and Alex was tearing him down- and Reggie shrugged.“Eh, chill, man. I mean, street dogs haven’t killed us yet, right?”---------Their new band, Julie and the Phantoms, is just starting to get their footing, and thanks to Julie's best friend Flynn, their playing an awesome gig tonight at a music night. To celebrate, Luke suggests to the rest of them that they get some street dogs before the show. Julie turns the offer down, but Alex and Reggie agree.Turns out you should never eat food where the condiments come out of the back of a car.
Relationships: Alex & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex & Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex & Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: A World Without Ghosts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971316
Comments: 20
Kudos: 274





	Killer Hot Dogs

**Author's Note:**

> CW: Food poisoning, vomiting, seizures, fainting, blood, hospitals, near death experiences, and mentions of death and neglectful parenting.
> 
> This is the second installment of my series A World Without Ghosts! While most of them are going to be able to be read individually, this story pulls a lot of information from the first one, so I recommend heading over and reading Wake Up, Sunset Curve if you haven't already!

Julie, Luke, Reggie, and Alex all felt like they were finally getting their mojo back. After a rough year for Julie, and months of pain for the boys, the four of them had found each other. They boys had said goodbye to their lives as Sunset Curve and said hello to Julie and the Phantoms. 

Flynn had been the one to come up with the name. It was after what was supposed to be their first official performance as a band. They had been signed up- by Flynn- for the school dance. The boys didn’t even know what had happened, really. They’d just gotten so distracted, their phones discarded somewhere in the Pattersons’ basement, that at one moment they’d glanced at the clock and it said 8:00 pm, and the next it was reading almost midnight. They’d rushed to the school, but were way, _way_ too late. Julie had barely even spoken to them, eyes filled with tears, but Flynn had just yelled at them. The new band name had come after Flynn had said they had “ghosted Julie”- once they all made up and apologized, Flynn thought it was the funniest joke of the year. 

As much as none of the band wanted the reminder of their first screw up as a group, all four of them had to admit it was a pretty damn good name. Over the past month, they’d all made peace with it and were beginning to love it. They were Julie and the Phantoms. None of them could explain it, but from that first rehearsal after convincing Julie to give them a chance, it was like they just clicked. It felt right to play together. It was with silent communication- just looks at each other- that told Luke, Alex, and Reggie that being with Julie felt better than it ever had with Bobby. It had only been a month, but this band had started becoming a family. They built each other back up, brought music back into all of their lives, and were happy to be together. 

Flynn had become their unofficial manager- which meant she booked them gigs, like the dance, without telling them first and posted about them on social media. It shouldn’t work, but for some reason it did. They’d done small performances every weekend since the dance, all of which Flynn had been posting about non-stop on her own and the band’s unofficial Instagram account. She had booked them a gig tonight at a coffee shop/music house. Their opening number was a piece that Luke had just barely begun writing before Bobby had stolen their work and wrecked their band. Julie had helped him finish it. The sound check for Bright had gone _perfectly._

“Guys!” Julie exclaimed excitedly as she set down her microphone. “That was amazing!”

The latina’s energy was infectious, making Alex and Reggie smile widely at her. Luke fed off her energy as much as she fed off his, and they were both bouncing around the stage a little bit. As Alex moved out from behind his drums to join the other three, Reggie nudged his shoulder. 

“Alex, you were _smoking.”_

“Oh no, I was just warming up- you guys were the ones on fire.”

Reggie and Luke shared a look, rolling their eyes with a smile. Alex was always way too modest for the skills he had. 

“Could you just own your awesomeness for once?” Reggie teased, and Alex tried to hide a smile.

“All right,” he said with feigned exasperation, “I was killing it.” 

With a happy little squeal, Julie hopped over to him, wrapping her arms around the drummer’s torso. Alex laughed, squeezing her back. 

“Okay, well, I’m thinking we fuel up before the show,” Luke said, throwing his arm over Reggie’s shoulders. “I’m thinking street dogs.”

Alex and Reggie immediately hummed their agreement- it had been a sort of tradition before gigs for them. Julie though, grimaced a little bit. Luke caught it, looking at their new lead singer with puppy dog eyes. Julie smiled apologetically, still trapped in Alex’s arms, where he now stood behind her with his arms around her shoulders. 

“Guys, I’m sorry- I promised Flynn I’d go get sushi with her. There’s a place she’s been wanting to try just like a block from here.”

The boys let out small, sighed, filled with dramatic disappointment. 

“Fine. But we will get you to eat street dogs with us someday, Molina! Mark our words!”

Julie rolled her eyes at Reggie, shaking her head with a smile. “Just go, you dorks. And be back here in an hour!”

The boys all nodded, making their exit. Alex leaned down, pressing an exaggerated kiss to Julie’s cheek before jogging off to join the other two. The three of them had their arms around each other, vibrating as energy radiated off of them and into the others. They hadn’t felt this good in _forever._ It was like they were alive again, and they had Julie to thank for it. 

“This is awesome, you guys,” Luke said, squeezing them both in tighter to him from his place in the middle. “This band, Julie- I think we’re finally gonna get what we’ve been dreaming about.”

The lead guitarist bounded away a few feet in front of them, calling out into the otherwise empty alley, “We’re gonna be legends!” with his fist pumped into the air. 

Alex and Reggie laughed behind him, letting out their own cheers and whooting with excitement. They wandered a block or two, until Luke stopped them and pointed out a hot dog vendor down a short alley between a bar and a salon. Alex turned to him questioningly. 

“Really? I mean, getting hot dogs off the guys who sell on the street corners- fine, whatever. But an alleyway? Are you sure that’s the best idea?”

Luke scoffed at him- like he’d had the most genius idea in the world and Alex was tearing him down- and Reggie shrugged. 

“Eh, chill, man. I mean, street dogs haven’t killed us yet, right?”

Luke smiled at Reggie brightly for the support, grabbing his arm to pull Reggie towards the vendor with them. Alex hesitated for a moment, then shrugged and followed after them. Reggie was right. What was the worst that could happen?

The worst, of course, hit them only 15 minutes later. Reggie was the one who got sick first, then Luke doubled over, and Alex fell off the chair at the small table they’d found back on the street. It was _awful_ . None of them could even think through the pain, and their vision was blurry. It was just Luke’s luck that he ended up the most coherent and aware of the three, and even he was barely making it through. His stomach and throat felt like they were on _fire_. It was like the universe was punishing him- he should have just listened to Alex. 

Luke was just barely aware of someone yelling for 9-1-1. Reggie was still in the chair next to him, hacking and vomiting even though nothing more was coming out. He wasn’t even sure if Alex was conscious, curled up on the dirty cement sidewalk. Luke felt a cough wrack through him so hard his vision went completely black. When he came to again, he was laying on his back, hearing beeps and shouting around him. It took what felt like years for his vision to clear enough to see what was going on around him- his eyes were filled with tears as he sobbed through the pain. 

They were in an ambulance, he finally recognized, and the shouting was paramedics. There was little to no space in the ambulance- these things weren’t meant to fit three patients at once. The boys were practically pressed up against each other as the paramedics tried to move around them and get to work. Luke couldn’t make out what they were saying. Everything felt faint, barely there. All he could see was Reggie next to him, groaning and crying with a trail of red coming from his mouth. Luke wanted to scream, but it came out as a groan as a jolt of pain ripped through him. He let out a sob, and suddenly the paramedics’ yelling got louder. Luke vaguely felt what seemed to be a hand trying to grab his, and instinctually, he grabbed back. 

It was Alex. He didn’t even need to look to know. The sounds of his best friends’ sobs and cries of pain mixed with his, and it was overwhelming. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t-

There was a shout as Alex’s hand seemed to go limp in his, and the paramedics moved between them, knocking their hands apart. Luke would have yelled in protest if he could, but it came out a sob instead as he forced his head towards Alex. His bandmate was completely unconscious now, the only sign of life in him the convulsions wracking through his body. 

“Alex. . .” Luke heard the weakest, most hoarse sounding voice he’d ever heard coming from his other side. Reggie. The bassist looked paler than he’d ever been, and his eyes were barely open. Luke blindly reached out for him, but his hand fell through nothing but air. 

Before he could even try again, his vision went black. 

\--------

The first thing Luke became aware of was that every muscle in his body _ached._ The next was that his throat felt like fire and his head had a dull throbbing. The third thing Luke noticed was that wherever he was, it was _bright._ He shut his eyes again, groaning a little. The only reason he became aware of the fact that people had been talking around him was that it stopped when he made noise. 

“Luke? Honey?”

It took him a moment to register the voice, and a few more to recognize it. 

“Mom?” he mumbled out, though it came out as a more jumbled burst of noise than an actual word. 

“Yeah, hon. I’m right here.” He felt his hand pushing his hair back from his forehead like she did when he was younger and would have a bad dream or got hurt. “Can you open your eyes for us?”

Luke obeyed, squinting with awareness of the brightness he’d seen a moment ago. His mom was leaning over him, his dad just over her shoulder, gentle smiles on both their faces. 

“Wha’ happened?”

“We’re never getting street dogs again is what happened,” came a familiar, snarky sounding voice to his left. Luke practically whipped his head around to face it, the memories flooding back in as he did so. The pain, the vomiting, the ambulance, blood coming from Reggie’s mouth, the violent shaking body of-

“Alex,” Luke breathed out, feeling tears well in his eyes at the sight of his best friend laying in a hospital bed next to him. The feeling of Alex’s hand going limp in his was seared into his brain, and a small, choked on sob came out of his mouth involuntarily. His mom shushed him gently, running her hand through his hair. Alex had water in his eyes, too, and he smiled at Luke reassuringly. 

“I’m here, too, asshole,” Reggie breathed out from Luke’s other side, sounding annoyed but laced with the sadness that only came when he was crying. Luke let out a wet laugh as he turned his head to look at Reggie, but just cried harder when he actually saw him. 

He’d been the last to go unconscious. The last things he’d seen were his best friends- his family- going quiet and limp. Luke couldn’t even be bothered to try and stop his tears. He was vaguely aware of his parents moving away from him, but he didn’t pay any mind to what they were doing. When he heard quiet, scraping sounds however, he looked up. His father stood by Alex’s bed, pressing a kiss to the drummer’s head as he very carefully moved the IV drip stand, pulse monitor, and Alex’s bed closer to Luke. On his other side, Emily was doing the same with Reggie. Luke’s parents moved them close enough together that all three of them could touch each other, immediately reaching out to clasp each other’s hands, but still far enough that it wouldn’t become a hazard if something happened. 

The feeling of Alex and Reggie’s hands in his, all three of them gripping knuckle white like they were never going to let go, was finally enough to get Luke’s tears to subside. They were alive, they were okay. He glanced at them, seeing they were both crying, too. None of them said a word, just a silent force of support and love hovering between them. 

After a few minutes, with all their tears gone, a woman in solid blue scrubs and a white coat entered the room with a soft knock and a smile. She looked pleased when her eyes found Luke, offering him a gentle smile. 

“Mr. Patterson, I’m glad you were finally able to join us,” her tone was kind. 

Luke frowned, glancing at Alex and Reggie. “How long was I. . .”

“Alex and I woke up almost 12 hours ago,” Reggie answered, sounding pained as he did. Luke sucked in a breath, glancing at his parents’ relieved faces. He’d been the last one to go, and the last one to wake. 

Seeming to sense Luke’s turmoil at the news, the doctor came to stand in front of his bed. 

“All bodies heal differently,” she said. “What’s important is that you’re awake, and that you’re healing just fine.”

“What happened to us,” Luke let out meekly, not looking at anyone but the doctor. She opened her mouth for a moment, before shutting it again with a shrug and a shake of her head. 

“To be entirely honest, we’re not quite sure. No form of food poisoning I’ve ever seen has acted so quickly or so severely. Whatever was in those hot dogs you ate. . . let’s just say that you boys were very lucky. All three of you will heal completely, and now that you’re all awake, I’m sure we’ll have you back on your feet within a few days or so.” 

It was clear from the looks he shared with Reggie and Alex that they didn’t understand what had happened either. 

“Alex is right,” Luke said, glancing at the drummer. “I’m never eating a hot dog again.”

Reggie and Alex both let out laughs, and it might have just been the best thing Luke had ever heard. The doctor smiled at the three of them, then moved over to Luke’s parents and quietly spoke to them. At her words they nodded, then moved back over to the boys. Emily and Mitch pressed kisses to all three of their foreheads. 

“We’ll be right back, boys,” Mitch said, patting Luke’s leg lightly before taking his wife’s hand and following the doctor out of the room. 

Silence lapsed between the three of them for a few moments. Their hands were still clasped between their beds, and Alex had turned to lay on his side, facing Luke and Reggie. They were here, they were okay, but Luke’s mind was still flashing with images of the paleness of Reggie’s skin, Alex jerking on the ambulance gurney. 

“I thought you guys were gone,” Luke quietly admitted, willing himself to not cry again. The other two stayed silent for a little while, looking at him with sadness and pain in their eyes. 

“We got really scared when you weren’t waking up,” Reggie admitted back. 

Luke knew that this was going to live with them for a while, that there would be days when they wouldn’t be able to leave each other’s side, that they’d all lose focus trying hard not to relive this. They’d need to talk about it, too. But right now, Luke also knew that it wasn’t time for it. None of them would be able to handle that conversation right now. Luke just closed his eyes, breathing in deeply and allowing the feeling of them just being together was over him. Alex’s hand was in his, holding strong and alive. He could hear Reggie’s breathing, see the color in his skin and the lack of blood in their shared hospital room. 

Luke didn’t open his eyes again until the door opened again. He looked up, expecting his parents back, but he was met with the relieved, smiling face of Julie. When they met eyes, she practically launched herself at him, hugging him tightly. He smiled, laughing a little into her curls as he released Alex and Reggie’s hands to hug her back. He squeezed her tightly, just as happy to see her as he was his brothers. Alex and Reggie were both smiling at them. He supposed they’d both already gotten their reunion moment with her, while he was still asleep. 

Twelve hours, Reggie’s words floated in Luke’s head. He’d been asleep twelve hours longer than they had. 

“Julie, I retract my earlier statement,” Reggie announced. “You definitely do not need to eat street dogs with us.”

Julie let out a wet sounding laugh into Luke’s shoulder, pulling back to shake her head at Reggie. She stayed at Luke’s bed, perching herself on the bed by his feet. Her bright, relieved smile was as infectious as always, and Luke found himself smiling for the first time since waking up. She reached up, clasping Luke’s hand in hers. Luke stared at their joint fingers, glad he was too tired to react enough that the heart monitor would reflect his thoughts. 

“If you guys don’t want to do a gig, you can just tell me next time,” Julie joked, making the whole room lighter. The boys couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Yes, ma’am,” Alex replied breathlessly. 

Luke had already been sure that asking Julie to join their band had been the best choice they’d ever made, but this was just confirming it even more. She fit like a puzzle piece. She knew exactly what they had needed in that moment- a reason to smile, to feel like everything was okay for a little bit- and she made it happen. No conversation, no questions asked. It felt right to have her with them. It felt right to have her writing music with him. And all three of them knew this had to be hitting her just as hard; she’d spent months at her mother’s hospital bedside, and now her three new bandmates and friends had almost died and were in that same type of bed. 

Doctors and nurses wandered in and out of the room, along with Luke’s parents and Julie’s dad- Luke didn’t comment on the lack of Alex and Reggie’s parents. He learned later that they had been there, for a little while, but once their respective sons had woken up, it seemed like they’d gotten out of the hospital as quickly as they could. Luke knew it hurt the others a little bit, but he also knew they didn’t care so much. They were used to it in ways they never should have to be. Emily, Mitch, and Ray made up for it tenfold, though, showering the same amount of parent-ly worry and affection on all three of them. Emily and Mitch had always been parents to all three of them longer than they’d been parents to just Luke, anyway. He’d meet Reggie in fourth grade, and then they’d met Alex in sixth. They’d been thick as thieves from the first moment they’d all spoken to each other, and Emily and Mitch had grown used to the boys being a permanent fixture in their household. With Luke being an only child, he knew his parents loved it- and they loved the boys. 

Julie stayed by their side the rest of the day. They were all grateful for it. Having her there made everything seem calmer and more normal. They joked and talked, and for a little while, they were able to forget that almost two days ago now, they had been close to dying. Julie rotated between them. Sometimes she sat by Luke’s feet and held his hand tightly, sometimes she cuddled up with Alex, and sometimes she playfully fought with Reggie over who got more of the bed until one of them almost pushed the other out and got scolded by a parent or nurse. At one point, the doctor allowed them all to stand up and try stretching their sore muscles for a minute. Immediately, though, all four of them had moved into each other, gripping tightly in a group hug. 

They were alive, safe, and together. 

A silent pact was made between them that day. 

No way in all that was holy and good were they ever even going to even think about eating a hot dog again.

**Author's Note:**

> No joke, I made myself cry a little bit writing this. But everyone's alive! They're okay! Emotionally scarred but okay. And I gotta say, I already hated hot dogs, but if y'all think I'm ever eating one again after this show you are dead wrong. 
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who voted last week on Juke or Ruke!! The scores on the two came out so close to even, but ultimately I decided to go with Juke on this one. It will be better for following the general plotline of the show, and it'll be a personal challenge for me since for whatever reason I really struggle with figuring out how to write their relationship. 
> 
> However!! For all my Ruke fans- because me too y'all- I am planning on posting separate one shots outside of this series every two weeks or so starting soon, and I promise plently of them will focus on Luke and Reggie. Keep an eye out for those under my other series More Than A Band! 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Next up: Alex is out for a stroll to clear his head until someone tries to crack it open.


End file.
